When Netflix's Gilmore Girls Revival Will Take Place

A lot of the details regarding the surprise Gilmore Girls revival still have to be worked out, but recently we learned one major piece of the puzzle. The show's four, 90-minute episodes will represent each season of a calendar year. In addition, we’ve learned that the new episodes will be set in the present day, which is good news, because I think it would be odd for the storyline to pick up at some other more historical point, like when Rory got back from being on the Obama campaign trail.

Here’s what’s happening. Once Gilmore Girls officially moves forward over at Netflix, reports indicate we’ll be getting a full calendar year of the Gilmore Girls on Netflix, with one episode set in the fall, one set in the winter, one set in the spring and one set in the summer. The weird 90-minute, Sherlock-esque episodes make a whole lot more sense given the context of seasons, and probably will be easier for the busy actors and actresses involved with the program to come together to shoot.

Still, TV Line reports that not every detail is set in stone, yet. Negotiations are ongoing between the series leads on the show, including Lauren Graham, Kelly Bishop, Scott Patterson and Alexis Bledel. (Edward Hermann unfortunately passed away last year.) Most of the leads have already expressed an interest in coming back, however, so what will probably be harder to bring together are any big recurring characters who the show might want back.

When looking at the extended cast, there are a lot of people with huge roles right now. Liza Weil, who played Paris Geller on the show, is now on How to Get Away With Murder. Jared Padalecki, who played Dean, is currently the lead on Supernatural. Matt Czuchry, who played Logan, is a main character on The Good Wife. And while Milo Ventimiglia’s gig with The Whispersjust ended, he still has a pretty busy schedule, as does Melissa McCarthy, who played Sookie St. James on the show. Doing episodes in different seasons will hopefully allow the show to bring in fondly remember recurring characters in story arcs while the actors and actresses continue working at their day jobs.

Netflix has already for sure been in contact with Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino about writing and directing the entire revival of the show, which is good news for fans—especially since Sherman-Palladino has a specific note she’d really like to end the series on. However, despite several credible studio reports saying the Gilmore Girls revival is definitely going to happen, Netflix and the studio have remained mum about the possibility. Fans have been waiting for eight years for new episodes, so even if we have to wait through winter, spring, summer and fall to catch the 4 90-minute episodes wrapping up the storyline, I think most of us will still be on board.

We’ll let you know as soon as any news related to Gilmore Girls breaks. In the meantime, here’s what TV has coming up.